Why Businesses Should Blog Outside The Box

There are many more people out there who don't realise they need your product or service than there are who do. And the mistake many businesses make when they start a blog as a marketing platform is to focus on the first group rather than the second.

Just like my friend the carpenter, who specialises in pergolas and wooden gazebos for people's gardens. He started a blog two years ago, and in no time at all he was ranking number one for pergolas and gazebos on the island. It got him plenty of business.

So one day I said to him: "What about all the people who don't know they need or want a pergola or gazebo?"

"I don't understand." He said.

"Tell me, why do people buy those things? What's the thought process that eventually leads to them thinking that they need a pergola or gazebo?"

"They could be looking to increase their shaded outdoor area, for many it's to create an outdoor dining room. They could be landscaping their whole garden space. Oh, and plenty of them put pergolas up to keep the rain off patio doors and windows. You know how all the houses here leak because when it rains, it really rains!"

His eyes lit up as he got the point. He started blogging about outdoor dining, with the occasional post about garden landscaping. His series on how to deal with leaks gets loads of traffic every time it rains here.

"Mike's Life is where you can stay current with the life, thoughts, successes and failures of Mike Cliffe-Jones. Never knowingly ordinary, Mike shares as much as possible about his work as a marketer and in business, as well as his enviable lifestyle on and in the oceans around The Canary Islands."